Cow in the Vedas
During the Vedic age, truth and wisdom were the two fundamental concepts of Dharma. Devotion to the cow is but a part of attaining these. Maharshi Bharadwaja has this to say about the Gosukta in Rigveda:
“Cows are our wealth. To me, cows are like Indra and other gods. The cow is the first gulp of Somarasa. I love with all my heart and mind, the cow, Indra’s representative”
The literal and spiritual meanings of the cow are contained together in the mantra. In the literature of the later day, the Puranas, the smritis, and the dharmasastras, devotion to the cow has been explicitly demonstrated. Killing a cow was seen as a great sin.
Mantra of Gosukta
In the first mantra of Gosukta in Atharvaveda, it is said, “Mata Rudranam, duhitha Vasunam swasadityanam amrutasya nabhih ma vadhista” meaning “The cow is the mother of Rudras, the daughter of Vasus, sister to Adityas, the navel of amrita!… don’t kill the cow”.
Elsewhere in the same sukta, it is said, ‘dhenuh sadanam rayeenam’ meaning “the cow is a repository of all kinds of wealth and prosperity”. In other words, the cow is like a mother to all worldly products.
Rigveda
The cow’s milk, curds, ghee, urine, and dung are called panchagavyas. They are not only nutrients but are also excellent medicines that work miraculously, ambrosia like- “Amritasya nabhih”.
Yajurveda
“Gosamana na vidyate’ – the cow is the only one among the living creatures of the world to be useful from beginning to end.
Samaveda
All things obtained from the cow are sacred. So the cow makes our body, mind and buddhi (discretion) holy and makes our environment, pure (sada gavah suchayah).
Atharvaveda
“Dhenussadanam rayeenam”- the cow is the abode of prosperity. She is the repository of eight kinds of wealth. The peasant becomes wealthy with golakshmi and enjoys prosperity.
Gouragnihotramiti pranapanabhyamevagnigm
Samarthayathi avyardhukah pranapanabhyam bhavathi ya evam veda.
The backbone of our socio-economic life
Viewed from a religious and cultural point of view, the cow from time immemorial has been very dear to Indian society as a center of attention and worthy of worship. To a culture like ours for which non-violence is a significant trait, the cow manifests itself as the centripetal pivot.
Besides, it will be realized that the cow stood as the backbone of our socio-economic life. We have recognized the service of the cow and the protection of the cow as a part of our inextricable social aspirations.
